diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 5cc66e4b..82db41a2 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ option(DRAMSYS_VERBOSE_CMAKE_OUTPUT "Show detailed CMake output" OFF)
 option(DRAMSYS_BUILD_CLI "Build DRAMSys Command Line Tool" ON)
 option(DRAMSYS_WITH_DRAMPOWER "Build with DRAMPower support enabled." OFF)
 option(DRAMSYS_ENABLE_EXTENSIONS "Enable proprietary DRAMSys extensions." OFF)
+option(DRAMSYS_USE_EXTERNAL_SYSTEMC "Use an external SystemC installation." OFF)
 
 ###############################################
 ###           Library Settings              ###
@@ -125,12 +126,15 @@ if(DRAMSYS_BUILD_TESTS)
 endif()
 
 ### SystemC ###
-list(APPEND CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH $ENV{SYSTEMC_HOME})
+if (DRAMSYS_USE_EXTERNAL_SYSTEMC)
+    list(APPEND CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH $ENV{SYSTEMC_HOME} /opt/systemc)
+    find_package(systemc NAMES SystemCLanguage)
+endif()
+
 FetchContent_Declare(
     systemc
     GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/accellera-official/systemc.git
-    GIT_TAG 2.3.4
-    FIND_PACKAGE_ARGS NAMES SystemCLanguage)
+    GIT_TAG 2.3.4)
 
 set(DISABLE_COPYRIGHT_MESSAGE True)